Utah

After spending a week in Indiana, I returned to Ohio for one day to do laundry and repack for our family vacation to Utah. My parents and I drove about 26 hours over the 4th of July weekend and arrived at my aunt & uncle's house on Sunday afternoon. During the long drive we had a wonderful visit with our old friends, the Pappases, listened to a LOT of Bill Cosby's old stand-up comedy routines, and enjoyed beautiful views of storms, mountains, and lakes.

On our first full day in Utah, we got up early and drove to Provo for the 4th of July parade. It was definitely the longest parade I've ever attended, complete with an hour and a half long "pre-parade!" Before the parade began, we munched on McD's breakfast sandwiches and watched hot air balloons drift through the warm morning air with the mountains in the background.

I taught my family how to play Dutch Blitz and 6 Nimmt, and they picked up on them pretty quickly so we spent our evenings around the table with cards in our hands.

My cousin Saige celebrated her 18th birthday while we were there, so we took her to Applebee's for her birthday. She was very embarassed when the entire serving crew came whooping and hollering around the corner to sing her a birthday ballad in front of the whole restaurant!

We spent one day on the lake with the boat and waverunners.

On our last full day together we expored Park City, where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. We visited the Olympic Park, watched some young aspiring athletes practice their freestyle ski jumping into a pool, and walked through the free museum where we learned all about skiing.

It was great to have some time with James, Anne, and the kids. Because they live so far away, our times together are few and far between. One thing is for sure: visiting them in the summer is so much more fun than visiting in the winter! Thanks for a great week, guys!